It seems I was unfair in a previous post to this motel’s wi-fi. I told you it was lame because it takes so long to load pictures that I’ve just given up. Roslyn mentioned this issue to Vanessa, who can do no wrong in my book. She said even she was having the same problem, and that the cause isn’t the wi-fi itself. It’s the Chinese.
Australia and New Zealand are crowded with Chinese tourists at this time of year the way Florida is crowded with Midwesterners in February. The reason is the Chinese New Year, which occurs in early February most years. Vanessa explained that Chinese workers get two weeks off for their lunar new year, and a lot of places close up shop for that fortnight. With worker wages rising in recent years, families that used to just go visit family now can afford to travel. And they travel to here. In droves. Vanessa said someone from China called her asking for accommodations for ten people, and if she didn’t have several rooms, they would gladly all crowd into just one room. She declined. Like every place else I’ve seen here, she has no vacancies.
And with so many people here and all of them connected to the wi-fi, it slows to a crawl. We leave Queenstown Friday morning, and I don’t expect an improvement in my internet service before then. First world problem.
It was a lovely, sunny day today. We drove up to a charming old community near here called Arrowtown. It was a gold mining town 150 years ago. Now it’s a few quaint streets you can walk about. We came, we walked, we drove to the Gibbston Valley Winery about 15 minutes away. Our tour guide was Lindsay. She grew up on the Jersey side of Philly, worked in the wine industry in the U.S. for a time, and then came here on a work visa to spend a year at Gibbston Valley. It’s a small operation; they don’t export. But their Pinot Noir won some big international prize in 2014 that left the French none too pleased. We saw the vineyard, went into their wine cave, and got to taste four varieties. I thought they were very nice. Full disclosure, I know as much about wine as I know about Polish naval history, which is nothing.
Later in the afternoon, we walked the entire lakefront of Queenstown. This is such a beautiful little town, even when Chinese New Year roughly doubles its population.
Dinner tonight was a burger at the World Bar. Vanessa, in whom I have complete and total faith, told us it was MUCH better than FergBurger. Patties made from fresh-ground beef and buns baked on premises. It was, indeed, a delicious burger. But FergBurger is plenty good, too.
Our plans for tomorrow are up in the air because the forecast says rain. Queenstown is the kind of place where everything there is to do is outside. So we’ll see.